John Bruton

John Gerard Bruton (born May 18, 1947) was the ninth Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland. He was a senior Irish politician who served in the cabinet of Garret FitzGerald as Minister for Finance (1981-1982 and 1986-1987), Minister for Industry & Energy (1982-1983) and Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism (1983-1986). He became leader of Fine Gael in 1990 and served as Taoiseach from 1994 until 1997, leading the Rainbow Coalition government of Fine Gael-Labour-Democratic Left.

Post-Taoiseach period

The government was widely expected to win re-election. However, the public had never forgiven Labour for going into coalition with Fianna Fáil after the previous election. Fine Gael gained nine seats, but Labour was severely mauled, losing 16 seats and leaving the coalition far short of the parliamentary support it needed to stay in office. Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats under Bertie Ahern came into power instead and Bruton went back to being Leader of the Opposition. Fine Gael sunk into paralysis in opposition. Fearing that the party would face collapse, he was deposed from the party's leadership in 2001. However the new leader Michael Noonan, proved disastrous and the party was annihilated to a far worse extent that was expected to be the case under Bruton. Having gone into the election expecting to increase its seat numbers from 54 to 60, instead it collapsed, winning a mere 31, 39 seats less than at its highpoint twenty years earlier in 1982.

Related Topics:
Bertie Ahern - 2001 - Michael Noonan

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Bruton, a passionate supporter of European integration, was appointed by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to be one of Ireland's delegates drafing the proposed constitution for the European Union. His brother, Richard Bruton, is the current deputy leader of Fine Gael. He accepted an offer to become European Union ambassador to the United States in the summer of 2004, and after resigning from the Dail on October 31 2004, he assumed that office. As a former prime minister and native English speaker, his appointment is seen as a strategic choice in improving transatlantic relations.

Related Topics:
European integration - European Union - Richard Bruton - United States - October 31

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John Bruton regularly lectures at national and international universities. In early 2004 he accepted a position as Adjunct Faculty Member in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University.

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